Mad cow effects ripple across the beef industry

Published: Monday, January 5, 2004 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 4, 2004 at 11:10 p.m.

Eleven and a half months of 2003 were good for beef producers in the United States. There were record live calf prices during the year. On Dec. 23, the dreaded event happened. A cow in Washington state was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephlopathy or mad cow disease.

As with a lot of cases, the general public and even some producers tend to have a knee-jerk reaction as to the safety of beef. It is important to keep an open mind and listen to all the facts and scientific-based information regarding this case and all other cases concerning BSE.

BSE is a chronic degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. It was first diagnosed in 1986 in Great Britain. Since that time the disease has been confirmed in most all the European countries. In May, BSE was discovered in Canada, creating billions of dollars in loss to the Canadian beef industry.

Cattle affected by BSE experience progressive degeneration of the nervous system. The incubation period in cattle is between three and six years; therefore, the disease is believed to only affect older cattle.

The disease is not contagious and can only be contracted by a ruminant animal which has eaten the nervous tissue of other ruminant animals. Examples of ruminant animals are cattle, sheep and goats. In the past, it was common to use meat and bone meal in feed rations for meat-producing animals. This provided an added source of protein to the feeds. In 1997, the United States and Canada outlawed the use of ruminant animal byproducts in feed for other ruminant animals.

The human version of BSE is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This disease is a brain-wasting disease in humans just as BSE is in cattle. The only known way for a human to contract the disease is by eating either the spinal cord, brain or part of the lower intestine of cattle that are affected by BSE.

The United States is a different cultural environment than other countries that have gone through the BSE scare. United States consumers don't typically eat brain and spinal cord tissue as do European and Asian consumers. Most European beef comes from 5 to 6-year-old cull dairy animals. Keep in mind BSE is considered a disease of older animals. Most Americans consume muscle tissue and most of it is from animals less than 30 months of age.

Slightly more than 10,000 pounds of beef produced in the packing house on the day the infected cow was slaughtered has been recalled.

The chances of this meat being tainted is very slim, but it is better to be safe than sorry. As for the spinal cord and brain from the animal, they were separated out for rendering and were found by the USDA almost immediately and never made it into any kind of food supply chain.

The risk to American consumers from this isolated case in Washington state is very low and potentially nil.

For the beef producers in the United States, the biggest hit will come from the drop off of consumer demand. Many consumers will have the knee-jerk reaction of not buying beef for a while. This response is totally uncalled for, as this is an isolated case and actions have been taken to insure that the beef supply is still the safest in the world.

The next main threat the beef industry faces is the export market. Currently, the biggest hit is the Japanese market, as the Japanese are the largest importers of U.S. beef. The United States exports approximately 10 percent of American beef. What effect this will have on the U.S. beef industry is yet to be known.

The Canadian beef industry took a large hit, but Canada exports 50 percent of its beef. When the Canadian exports were cut off, there was simply too much beef to be absorbed in the country. Live cattle prices in Canada fell by $50/cwt or $77 to $27 in eight weeks. Prices have returned to about $67/cwt in December.

Futures prices for live cattle in the United States has dropped the daily limit each of the first days it was open. Nothing officially has been released, but a few economists are predicting a drop in prices by as much as $30 per hundredweight initially. Hopefully, there will only be a short-term drop in prices as a result of this crisis. As long as this is an isolated case and no new cases arise, it is anticipated the beef industry will bounce back from this setback.

It is recommended that beef producers not jump ship as recovery from this isolated case is expected. As to consumers, rest assured that the USDA and U.S. beef producers are working hard to provide the safest food supply in the world. Do not let this one isolated case, which poses virtually no risk to consumers, scare you away from enjoying the taste of beef.

Chris Talley is an extension agent, specializing in livestock, with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Henderson and Transylvania counties.

<p>Eleven and a half months of 2003 were good for beef producers in the United States. There were record live calf prices during the year. On Dec. 23, the dreaded event happened. A cow in Washington state was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephlopathy or mad cow disease.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>As with a lot of cases, the general public and even some producers tend to have a knee-jerk reaction as to the safety of beef. It is important to keep an open mind and listen to all the facts and scientific-based information regarding this case and all other cases concerning BSE.</p><p>BSE is a chronic degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. It was first diagnosed in 1986 in Great Britain. Since that time the disease has been confirmed in most all the European countries. In May, BSE was discovered in Canada, creating billions of dollars in loss to the Canadian beef industry.</p><p>Cattle affected by BSE experience progressive degeneration of the nervous system. The incubation period in cattle is between three and six years; therefore, the disease is believed to only affect older cattle.</p><p>The disease is not contagious and can only be contracted by a ruminant animal which has eaten the nervous tissue of other ruminant animals. Examples of ruminant animals are cattle, sheep and goats. In the past, it was common to use meat and bone meal in feed rations for meat-producing animals. This provided an added source of protein to the feeds. In 1997, the United States and Canada outlawed the use of ruminant animal byproducts in feed for other ruminant animals.</p><p>The human version of BSE is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This disease is a brain-wasting disease in humans just as BSE is in cattle. The only known way for a human to contract the disease is by eating either the spinal cord, brain or part of the lower intestine of cattle that are affected by BSE.</p><p>The United States is a different cultural environment than other countries that have gone through the BSE scare. United States consumers don't typically eat brain and spinal cord tissue as do European and Asian consumers. Most European beef comes from 5 to 6-year-old cull dairy animals. Keep in mind BSE is considered a disease of older animals. Most Americans consume muscle tissue and most of it is from animals less than 30 months of age.</p><p>Slightly more than 10,000 pounds of beef produced in the packing house on the day the infected cow was slaughtered has been recalled.</p><p>The chances of this meat being tainted is very slim, but it is better to be safe than sorry. As for the spinal cord and brain from the animal, they were separated out for rendering and were found by the USDA almost immediately and never made it into any kind of food supply chain.</p><p>The risk to American consumers from this isolated case in Washington state is very low and potentially nil.</p><p>For the beef producers in the United States, the biggest hit will come from the drop off of consumer demand. Many consumers will have the knee-jerk reaction of not buying beef for a while. This response is totally uncalled for, as this is an isolated case and actions have been taken to insure that the beef supply is still the safest in the world.</p><p>The next main threat the beef industry faces is the export market. Currently, the biggest hit is the Japanese market, as the Japanese are the largest importers of U.S. beef. The United States exports approximately 10 percent of American beef. What effect this will have on the U.S. beef industry is yet to be known.</p><p>The Canadian beef industry took a large hit, but Canada exports 50 percent of its beef. When the Canadian exports were cut off, there was simply too much beef to be absorbed in the country. Live cattle prices in Canada fell by $50/cwt or $77 to $27 in eight weeks. Prices have returned to about $67/cwt in December.</p><p>Futures prices for live cattle in the United States has dropped the daily limit each of the first days it was open. Nothing officially has been released, but a few economists are predicting a drop in prices by as much as $30 per hundredweight initially. Hopefully, there will only be a short-term drop in prices as a result of this crisis. As long as this is an isolated case and no new cases arise, it is anticipated the beef industry will bounce back from this setback.</p><p>It is recommended that beef producers not jump ship as recovery from this isolated case is expected. As to consumers, rest assured that the USDA and U.S. beef producers are working hard to provide the safest food supply in the world. Do not let this one isolated case, which poses virtually no risk to consumers, scare you away from enjoying the taste of beef.</p><p>Chris Talley is an extension agent, specializing in livestock, with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Henderson and Transylvania counties.</p>